Author Archives: whangawehi

Whangawehi winter planting programme

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Hi all,

The WCMG is proud to release the new winter 2015 planting programme. Volunteers are invited to partake to the Whangawehi Restoration Programme during two week ends and on two different sites. An over night stay on a Marae is offered for those wanting to do a little bit of work on the Sunday morning.

We are all looking forward to seeing you there

Poster available here : WhangawehiPlanting2015

When and Where :
16th and 17th of May (Taharoa Trust – Pat and Sue O’Brien : 1637 Mahia East Coast Road)
13th and 14th of June (Pongaroa Station- Shane Mildenhall : just above the Whangawehi bridge)
Postponed to the following week ends in case of bad weather (updates on whangawehi.com).
Time :
8.30 am start – just turn up!
3.30 pm End
4.30 Sausage sizzles/dinner at Tuahuru Marae
Over night stay at Tuahuru Marae (free of charge) including:
– Accommodation and food on the Marae (Saturday night)
– Breakfast and packed lunch for the Sunday.
Please RSVP with Rae Te Nahu 068375537, 0278045149 or rae.tenahu@xtra.co.nz
Signage:
Planting sites will be signposted on the day from the Mahia Beach Road
Bring :
Sturdy shoes, hat, dress for the weather, rain or shine
BYO lunch and drinks for Saturday
Bring a sleeping bag/sheet/pillow for those staying overnight
Contacts :
Taharoa Trust : Pat and Sue O’Brien 068375687 or psobmahia@gmail.com
Project Coordinator : Nic Caviale 068388527 or caviale@hbrc.govt.nz

White bait habitat workshop with Te Mahia School

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Te Mahia school students recorded on their blog (http://www.temahia.blogspot.co.nz/) their trip to the river to learn more about White bait habitat :

Room 1 tamariki were on the hunt for whitebait eggs on Wednesday afternoon down at the Whangawehi River. They were learning about; the different types of whitebait there are, the different types of vegetation they could see, the weather conditions, how to use GPS, and the different types of birds they could see. Sadly we couldn’t find a single whitebait egg but the tamariki know what to look for and where they can find whitebait eggs next time. Everyone enjoyed the muddy surfaces and slippery rocks resulting in some tamariki falling over and getting wet. The sound of laughter was infectious! Learning more about our whenua, our place is what Te Mahia School children enjoy. Thank you to Matua Arthur and Whaea Jenni who led the way with this project, will definitely have to wait for the next spring tide to have another go.

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Release spraying at Whangawehi

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16 000 native trees have been release sprayed yesterday to stop the autumn grass growth around the trees. Over all, all the trees look very good with some good growth hapening after cyclone Pam’s rain events. Part of the trees are already above grass hight and won’t need releasing. The smallest trees will need caring in October 2015.

Whangawehi well represented at the Iwi Fishing Conference

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On the 24th of March 2015, the Whangawehi Leaders were invited to the International Iwi Fishing Conference in Auckland and asked to explain how Iwi can engage positively with agencies in resource management.

The Wai Maori Trust, whose role is to support and promote iwi management of waterways, is supportive of this collaborative approach and uses it as a template to showcase how collaboration between iwi/hapu and agencies can lead to positive outcomes.

Well done Kathleen and Rae for doing us proud.

Update on the water monitoring programme at Whangawehi

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The temperature loggers, lent by HBRC for a combined water monitoring programme, have been removed from 6 different sites in the Whangawehi catchment. These loggers have been recording since December 2014. Once analysed, the data should allow the community to better understand temperature variations during the warmer months of the year. The data recorded is part of the bench mark monitoring undertaken to measure the impact of the restoration programme on the water. High temperatures are a limiting factor for the development of a wide range of micro and macro organisms.It will be intersting to review the data in 5 years time when the trees planted last year have grown and started shading the stream.

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Pongaroa Station fenced off on both sides

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Thanks to the support of M. Fay, Shane Mildenhall and sponsors, the Whangawehi river is now completely fenced off on Pongaroa Station. In 2013, Pongaroa Station fenced off the true right side of the stream at their own cost. The WCMG funded this year the fence on the true left side and is glad to see this part of the project completed. The next step will be the establishment this winter of 30000 native plants.

Well done to you all.

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Trap lines along the Whangawehi stream

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The recent trap checks along the Whangawehi river was quite encouraging with 4 hedgehogs and one rat caught on Grandy Lake Forest and two hedgehogs caught on Pat and Sue O’Brien.

Traps are monitored every second week and rebaited with deshydrated rabbit meat. The data is logged into a custom made booklet and kills are entered by the landowners into a data base (cloud application : trap.org.nz). Monthly reports are presented to the Whangawehi Catchment Management Group Committee and Hawkes Bay Regional Council.

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Water monitoring in the Whangawehi catchment

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Our water monitoring team was out again last week for the March sampling and the Cultural indexing. Water quality is monitored every second month with samples sent to a lab for analysis. The streams are low at this time of the year with high water temperatures and algae growth. Suprisingly enough, the team observed large numbers of white baits obviously thriving in the big pools.

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Invitation to the Maori Fishing Conference

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Kathleen Mato and Rae Te Nahu had the privilege yesterday to receive and invitation from Doug Jones (representing Te Wai Maori Trust) to the Maori Fishing Conference in Auckland on the 24th of March. Kathleen and Rae will share the story of the Whangawehi Catchment Management Group and illustrate how working under a collaborative approach can be extremely rewarding.

Te Wai Maori Trust is a long term supporter of the restoration programme undertaken in Whangawehi and we feel privilege to be able to share our story to a wider audience. Tena koe Doug.

Conference summary :

This year’s Māori Fisheries Conference 2015 is about recognising what it takes to be ‘IN FOR THE LONG HAUL’. If iwi want to keep hauling in the net – TŌTOIA TONUTIA TE KUPENGA – we must act fully as kaitiaki, achieve environmental, social and cultural sustainability and ensure the continued abundance of our ocean resources – TE TINI A TANGAROA.

If you want to know more about the conference, please follow the link :  http://teohu.maori.nz/conference/index.htm

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